Bluesky named Toni Schneider its new CEO, and he told The Verge he wants to grow both the Bluesky app and the open AT Protocol that underpins it.
Schneider framed the service as two linked projects, the consumer-facing app and the developer ecosystem he called the ATmosphere, and said his brief is to avoid turning the platform into an inward-looking “bubble.”
“The future of social media should serve the public good,” Toni Schneider said, summarising the company’s protocol-first rationale CEO.
The leadership change follows founder Jay Graber stepping into a chief innovation role, a shuffle Schneider says allows the company to move from founding vision to execution while protecting product innovation CEO.
Schneider, who previously led Automattic, argued the work ahead is like the web’s early days and will take sustained effort; he warned building a broad ecosystem could take a decade CEO.
Bluesky has also been pushing its AI features in parallel: the company recently expanded its assistant Attie into a research-capable tool, a development that ties into Schneider’s interest in how AI and the protocol interoperate Bluesky Expands AI Assistant Attie.
